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Yes, we're working with a bunch of campuses trying to undo the effects of
bystander-only or primary prevention-only philosophies which backfired
mightily. Research demonstrating a promising or best practice that results
in an all eggs-in-one-basket approach misses the essential truth that prevention
is multi-faceted and needs to be holistic, not narrowly targeted. We need
education AND information AND risk reduction AND protective behaviors AND
primary prevention AND secondary prevention AND tertiary prevention AND
enforcement AND policy, etc. It's not either/or if we want our efforts to
be effective.
Regards,
Brett A.
Sokolow
Brett A. Sokolow,
J.D.
Attorney-At-Law
"Best Practices for Campus Health and
Safety"
Managing Partner
The National Center for Higher
Education Risk Management, Ltd.
(a not-for-profit
corporation)
20 Callery Way
Malvern, PA
19355-2969
Tel. (610) 993-0229
Fax (610) 993-0228
Brett Blogs! at
www.ncherm.org
Executive Director,
The National Behavioral Intervention Team Association
(www.nabita.org)
NCHERM serves as counsel/advisor to 14 campuses,
including:
Special Counsel to the Dean of Students, Dominican
University (IL)
Special Counsel for Student Conduct Issues, Warren Wilson
College
Special Advisor to the University of Texas, San Antonio
Special
Counsel, Concordia University (TX)
Special Counsel, Northern Virginia
Community College
Special Counsel, Southwestern Michigan College
Special
Counsel, the Community College of Allegheny County
Special Advisor, Vassar
College
Special Advisor, Henry Ford Community College
In a message dated 1/3/2011 11:45:47 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
writes:
This
discussion is extremely important for all of us to continue on campuses
throughout the year. Recently, I ran into a campus that was making much of its
programming decisions based on the "Undetected Rapist" and thus missing a
LARGE percentage of students who may also be committing sexual assaults
(and/or being bystanders to sexual assaults). Like others have said
before, Lisak's research provides some great insight to a specific
demographic. At the same time, we have many more demographics on
campuses being influenced and effected by the various components of sexual
assault.
Your Fan,
Mike
Domitrz
http://www.DateSafeProject.org
Toll-Free:
800-329-9390
***Catch the latest episode of DSP TV at
http://www.DateSafeProject.org
On Jan 3, 2011, at
9:19 AM, Mahri Irvine wrote:
And we can’t forget about the men out
there who know that there are men raping women in the next room, or planning
rapes for the next party, but choose to not do or say anything because it’s
“none of their business” or because they don’t know the women, or any number
of excuses or validations. In my mind, those men are also perpetrators, just
not necessarily primary perpetrators.
Mahri Irvine
Doctoral
Student
American University
Department of Anthropology
“Critiques
should be coupled with collective action. Just as reality without critique
equals self-delusion, critique without action produces only nihilism and
despair." -Randall McGuire (Archaeology as Political Action,
2008:39)
From: Juliette Grimmett [mailto:]
Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2011 9:39 PM
To:
Cc:
;
Subject: Re:
Intention, Sociopaths, and Rape Culture
Fully agree. I just thought I'd
stick with the definition of rape in my discussion which is why I said
92+%
Juliette Grimmett
Assistant Director, Women's
Center
Interpersonal Violence Services
NC State University
(919)
515-2012
On Jan 2, 2011, at 9:22 PM, wrote:
I
think that gives men too much credit, Juliette. Lisak's research showed
a 6.3% perpetration rate for rape, only. Sexual assault was not
assessed, nor were relationship violence, stalking or other acts of gender
violence. The four offense definitions were conservative
(statute-based), and not based on campus offense definitions. Broaden
the question, and I think the offender base will broaden as well. Also,
account for the fact that Lisak only studied undetected rapists. Those
who were already held accountable in court or on campus were not
studied. That's a small number, sure, but also broadens the offender
population.
Regards,
Brett A. Sokolow
Brett A. Sokolow,
J.D.
Attorney-At-Law
<ncherm-logo-short.jpg>
"Best
Practices for Campus Health and Safety"
Managing Partner
The
National Center for Higher
Education Risk Management, Ltd.
(a
not-for-profit corporation)
20 Callery Way
Malvern, PA
19355-2969
Tel. (610) 993-0229
Fax (610) 993-0228
Brett Blogs! at
www.ncherm.org
Executive Director, The National Behavioral
Intervention Team Association (www.nabita.org)
NCHERM serves as
counsel/advisor to 14 campuses, including:
Special Counsel to the Dean
of Students, Dominican University (IL)
Special Counsel for Student Conduct
Issues, Warren Wilson College
Special Advisor to the University of Texas,
San Antonio
Special Counsel, Concordia University (TX)
Special Counsel,
Northern Virginia Community College
Special Counsel, Southwestern Michigan
College
Special Counsel, the Community College of Allegheny
County
Special Advisor, Vassar College
Special Advisor, Henry Ford
Community College
In a message dated 1/2/2011 9:05:06 P.M. Eastern
Standard Time, writes:
one last
thought...
Despite the sexist, often misogynistic, rape culture we live
in where men are entitled and women objectified, most men (on college
campuses, about 92+%) do not commit rape. The ones who do choose to do
so - raping is a choice someone makes.
peace
Juliette
Grimmett
Assistant Director, NC State University Women's
Center
Interpersonal Violence Services
3120 Talley Student
Center
Raleigh, NC 27695
919-515-2012
Want to learn more about
being a peer educator?
www.ncsu.edu/themovement
P Consider the
environment before printing this email or the attachment.
>>>
"Juliette Grimmett" <> 1/2/2011 4:03 PM
>>>
Thank you for your response Abby - you said exactly what I
have been
thinking - there is still a small number of men who do it,
therefore
there is something else going on here- we can't just say poor men
who
are victims of a rape culture. Also, I fully agree that these men
know
what they are doing - this is why they call, text, email, facebook,
etc.
a couple days after, acting completely normal, or sometimes
apologizing
(for their own sake-to make the survivor think they are
remorseful and
therefore not report), all to continue being manipulative
and make it
even harder for these women to report. Even law
enforcement knows this
which is why pre-text phone calls are one of their
investigative tactics
in non-stranger rape cases. We all know what is right
and wrong - rape
is NOT gray - if someone is crying, passed out, saying no,
totally
still, pushing someone away - everyone one of us knows this is
someone
not consenting. It's just that some choose not to
care.
peace
Juliette Grimmett
Assistant Director, NC State
University Women's Center
Interpersonal Violence Services
3120 Talley
Student Center
Raleigh, NC 27695
919-515-2012
Want to learn more
about being a peer educator?
www.ncsu.edu/themovement
PConsider the
environment before printing this email or the
attachment.
>>> "Abby Tassel"
<> 12/29/2010
9:49 AM
>>>
Im now wanting to challenge a little as well!
While we
live in a rape culture, research has shown us that only a
small percentage
of men rape (although a much larger percentage commit
other
sexually-violent crimes). Thus, there is something going on
with
these men that allows them to violate at this level. I am not
saying
the construct of a diagnosis would be appropriate, just that when
we
talk about rape as mistaken hooking up, we are not recognizing
the
violent nature of the act. Having heard hundreds if not thousands
of
accounts from victims/survivors, it has become clear that these men
know
they are hurting someone else when they rape. So, yes, our
culture
supports predatory behavior, objectifying, trying to hook up,
but
for most men, when women freeze, scream, cry, or otherwise indicate
lack
of consent, they stop. For the men who are not going to stop,
the
culture provides a camouflage for their behavior. So Frank
and
other rapists think that what they are doing is normal. Its
not. I
think we need to be careful to not sanitize the violence
along with
Frank.
Peace,
Abby Tassel
Assistant
Director
From:
[mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 3:32
PM
To:
Subject: Intention, Sociopaths, and Rape
Culture
I wanted to comment and challenge us on a couple of the
assumption that
have been made in the responses to these questions about
two tier
policies. These assumptions are that very few perpetrators
are
unintentional and that most rapists are sociopaths. Lisak's research
is
often pointed to validate this perspective.
I think
Lisak's research is very well done and very helpful, but his
findings are
often misunderstood out to validate some of our own
assumptions: to help us
villainize perpetrators who we are
understandably angry at and hurt by and
so that we don't have to
collectively take responsibility. Lisak uses the
term "serial rapists"
to indicate perpetrators that repeatedly engage in
the behavior. I know
many of us connect the terms "serial rapists" with
"serial killers" -
who I would agree are often (probably always)
sociopaths. But just
because one does something bad repeatedly doesn't mean
one knows what he
is doing is bad and doesn't care (sociopath). It could
also mean that he
has been taught by the culture that has surrounded him
that what he is
doing is not bad, that it is normal, and that it is
expected of him.
We live in a rape culture that mis-educates
us about what is sex and
what is rape throughout our lives. Extreme
examples of the rape culture
are often shared on this list with calls for
activism to confront them.
But we often become oblivious to the more subtle
aspects of rape culture
that surround us everyday - even those of us who do
this work everyday.
The reason we don't see the rape culture is not because
it is not there,
but because it is everywhere. The rape culture encourages,
condones, and
teaches men to rape women, only it doesn't call it that. It
calls it
hooking up, getting laid, and having sex. As a result of this
rape
culture men in particular are taught that the way you hook-up and
have
sex includes pressure, coercion, using alcohol to ply invalid
consent,
etc. Only we don't call it that. We call it "having game," "being
a
sweet talker," "knowing how to butter her up," or "finding a
cheap
date." Pardon the heterosexist examples - but heterosexism
and
homophobia are also a part of the rape culture. Most men who
have
engaged in behavior that meets the legal definition of rape and
the
definition of rape in college policies don't define what they have
done
as rape (84% according to Koss). I would think that makes them
rapists
but perhaps rapists who didn't intend to hurt, violate,
dominate,
coerce, or control their victims - although I am sure their lack
of
intent to do so does much to change that the victims of
their
perpetration feel exactly that. Nor should it.
Now,
let me be clear, this does not excuse, condone, or mitigate
the
perpetrators responsibility in anyway shape or form. This is why I
don't
think separating intention with unintentional in terms of policy
or
sanctioning should be done. I would argue instead this implicates
the
rest of us, who contribute to the rape culture ourselves despite
our
best of intentions.
If we are going to be effective in
preventing sexual assaults, we have
to really understand who the
perpetrators are (as hard as that might be
- especially for those who do
this work who are survivors) so that we
can be most effective in reaching
them. If we hold sessions telling
college men that rape is bad - it is a
tremendous waste of our time and
theirs. The sociopaths (who I would argue
are limited but clearly
dangerous) aren't going to care. And the nice,
well-meaning,
well-intentioned rapist (who I would argue data suggest are
the vast
majority) will agree with you wholeheartedly and then continue
hooking
up the way they have been taught their whole lives and engaging
in
behavior that does indeed meet legal and campus definitions of rape.
In
fact, they may perpetrate repeatedly (becoming a serial rapist)
not
because they are sociopaths but because they are doing what they
have
been taught is expected of them. The problem is with how we have
been
taught to hook up our whole lives.
This is why we must
challenge the rape culture by clearly defining
consent, clearly defining
informed consent, and beginning to unpack the
ways the rape culture has and
continues to mis-educates us so that there
are fewer perpetrators and so
that we can begin to challenge, confront,
and dismantle the rape culture
that continues to mis-educate others.
--Keith E. Edwards,
PhD
www.menendingrape.org
www.keithedwards.us
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